


Summer Days, Flying By

by ADyingFlower



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Child Neglect, Coming of Age, Families of Choice, Fluff and Angst, Foster Care, Gen, HQ Brofest, HQ Brofest Master Tier, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mother-Son Relationship, Platonic Relationships, Siblings, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Unconventional Families
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-03
Updated: 2017-05-03
Packaged: 2018-10-27 03:49:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10801095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ADyingFlower/pseuds/ADyingFlower
Summary: “Ne, Tobio.” Shouyou asked him one afternoon, smile relaxed on his face as he spread his fingers, splaying shadows on the walls. “Have you ever wondered what it’s like to fly?”He shook his head. Flying meant going outside, and even imagining it made him tense up. He was already breaking enough rules as it was; no need to stir up his mind more than he already had.Shouyou looked a little sad at that. “Well, I have.” His eyes went to the sky, like he could see himself soaring at that very moment. “You should imagine it, just once.”The facts that make up his world are this: his name is Kageyama Tobio, he's ten years old, and he's never been outside his house.Until he met Shouyou.





	Summer Days, Flying By

You have to stay here, his mother told him once, at somewhere-someplace long forgotten to his memory. You do not belong with others. 

He did not argue, did not say anything back. Only bowed his head in deferment even when gentle hands smoothed back his hair. 

It’s alright, she said, your father and I will love you regardless. 

Nothing more was said, and his mother went back to the outside world, where he could not follow. 

  
  
  


His name was Tobio, and he only knew this because of familiar mouths saying it to him on repeat. It was a name, one which he disassembled and reassembled again until  _ Kageyama Tobio _ made sense to him more than the numbers dotting the walls and door frames and magnets. 

It was a strange name, one full of weird conjunctions and putting irrelevant words together to make a name, but it was his, so he treasured it. 

He tasted the name on his tongue. It was a strange name. 

  
  
  


Like ants, people scurried back and forth outside. He wasn’t allowed to look outside, not really, but he had taken to it regardless. 

The light hurt his eyes, but it was nice in a way he couldn’t quite describe. It was just...nice. He always had to make sure to smooth back the curtain and adjust the blinds after peering through; the last time his mother had caught him with them open, well. 

He just had to make sure they never found them open again. Simple really. 

Tobio flicked his overgrown bangs out of his face, watching the people bustling next door. It was almost exactly like a scene from one of his newest books, so did that that mean...people were moving in? 

It wasn’t like he could talk to them anyhow, he thought as he dropped the curtains, blocking the new neighbor from view. That would be against the rules. 

  
  
  


The new neighbors were very loud. 

It was...nice. Like it was nice in looking outside, or when he successfully did a problem right. He woke up to the smell of syrup and fell asleep to the sound of laughter. Children ran around outside screaming to the high heavens in their joy at midday while chittering ladies talked amongst themselves as they pinned up the laundry. 

Tobio watched, and it quickly became his newest hobby. The neighbours on the other side of the house were just a married pair who worked and settled down quietly at night, so Tobio had never seen anything with quite so much energy before. Every morning, he would peel back the curtains and pull two blinds apart to watch their actions with rapt interest. 

When no scolding from his parents came the next time they visited, his courage only multiplied.

Foolish. Very foolish of him.  

  
  
  


It was April 24th, the sun was shining outside, and Kageyama Tobio was dead. 

Maybe not quite literally, but if his parents ever found out, he would be. He wished he was joking, if he really understood what a joke was. 

It had been months since the neighbors moved in, and not once had he be caught. Until today. Until that morning. Until the oldest boy turned and looked _ just right _ and connected eyes with him. 

Tobio panted from where he was pressed against the wall. He could’ve sworn-

Could’ve sworn the oldest boy had smiled at him. 

  
  
  


Tobio stayed away from windows for a week. A week of just his books and puzzles, things he never knew he quite disliked until a more favorable option appeared. A week of guilt and shame clogging his chest and making him stare at the ceiling of his room at unheard of hours in the morning when even the neighbors were silent for once. 

He closed his eyes and made a choice. 

  
  
  


The oldest boy had waited for him. 

Their bedroom windows were across from each other; the only thing dividing their houses was two skinny strips of a side yard and a fence worn by age. Tobio had taken to watching them from the bathroom, as that had the best view of their backyard, but on occasion he had watched into the room directly across from him. Posters from things he didn’t know and toys of things he didn’t understand were all there was, so he lost interest, but no longer. 

This time, instead of just peeking through them, he grabbed the bottom of the blinds and pulled them up, resting them on a nearby chair. 

Then he waited. 

Nighttime came, and he waited. 

His stomach rumbled, and he waited. 

Everything was worth it when he met a pair of brown eyes, and the most brilliant smile he’d ever seen split the world around him. 

  
  
  


_ What’s your name?  _ The paper said with messy crayon, the words big and blocky for his ease of sight. 

Tobio scribbled on his own sheet, the pen gripped in his sweaty hand. This was everything his parents told him not to do, not to do, but-

_ Tobio _ . He wrote carefully, the strange name of his seeming not so strange anymore as he presented the paper through the window.  _ What’s your name? _

The oldest boy eagerly wrote back, his tongue poking out slightly in concentration.  _ I’m Shouyou. Let’s be friends!  _

Friends. He tasted that word in his mouth, his eyes nervously darting to his fiction books stacked messily all over the room for help, but none was forthcoming. 

Tobio swallowed.  _ Okay. _

  
  
  


Shouyou was his friend. He had a friend. 

Tobio smiled happily to himself later that night, his cheeks hurting at the unfamiliar motion. 

He had his very own friend. 

  
  
  


Shouyou liked the color yellow. His favorite food was Tamago Kake Gohan. His birthday was June 21st. They were the same age. 

The last one he had to check the calendar in order to make sure, but sure enough, they were both ten years old. In a little more than a month though, that would change, but he didn’t mind so much. He’s taller anyways, he thinks. 

He kept all his messages from Shouyou tucked between his mattress and the bed frame. No need to push his luck more than he already has. 

  
  
  


Tobio was surprised when one night, instead of reaching for paper as per usual, Shouyou instead idly held the windowsill. 

The breath caught in his throat. To do this, to really hear Shouyou instead of communicating like they had, if his parents found out…

It didn’t matter, he realized with sudden clarity. His parents hadn’t been home in almost a month and the food was running low and he had a friend for the first time. 

He nodded, his own hands hovering over the windowsill. .

Shouyou smiled, and it was like the sun.

  
  
  


“Hey, Tobio.” 

“Hello...Shouyou.”

  
  
  


It was a lot more fun to actually talk instead of communicating by paper. Shouyou’s voice had a bit of a lilt to it, something he called an  _ accent _ . He said it was because he lived in the countryside before moving here, wherever the countryside is. He also said Tobio himself had one, that his words slurred a bit.

Shouyou liked to hang his body outside the window, a leg here or an arm there to catch the fading rays of the sun, lighting his hair a brilliant orange. 

Tobio didn’t dare try, no matter how much something inside him longed to feel the sun on him, yet another thing banned by his parents. 

  
  
  


“Ne, Tobio.” Shouyou asked him one afternoon, smile relaxed on his face as he spread his fingers, splaying shadows on the walls. “Have you ever wondered what it’s like to fly?” 

He shook his head. Flying meant going outside, and even imagining it made him tense up. He was already breaking enough rules as it was; no need to stir up his mind more than he already had.

Shouyou looked a little sad at that. “Well, I have.” His eyes went to the sky, like he could see himself soaring at that very moment. “You should imagine it, just once.” 

  
  
  


He did imagine it. He never knew something could be quite so beautiful. 

  
  
  


“Trust me.” Shouyou said easily, his hand outstretched, legs dangling over the floor lengthed window. 

“I do trust you.” Tobio reassured, staring at the gap between the houses. “But…” 

“But what?” He wiggled his fingers, not looking the least bit impatient. 

Tobio’s face scrunched up, fingers digging into his knees. “I’m not too sure about this, Shou. You know I’m not allowed outside…” 

“So what?” Shouyou demanded. “So what if you’re parents find out? I’ll protect you, so don’t you worry, okay? Just trust me.” 

He hesitated one more time, but really, one couldn’t say no to Shouyou. Hesitantly, he reached out a hand to meet Shouyou’s open one, letting the sunlight touch his skin for the first time. 

Their hands met, and Shouyou flashed him a smile over his own warm skin. 

“See.” He whispered softly. “Just trust me.” 

  
  
  


His parents came home a week later. 

“Tobio.” His father told him, a cigarette held loosely in his hand as he lit it despite his mother's protests. “You’re lucky. You never have to know what cruelties the world has to offer, the bad people who break the rules and what happens to them. Society is a flawed thing, my dear boy.”

The warning is thick in his voice, but Tobio thinks he still would like to see it, though. 

  
  
  


“It’s my birthday today” was what greeted him when he opened his window one day. 

He blinked, scurrying through his thoughts for what he should say. “Uh...Happy birthday?” It came out sounding more like a question than he would have hoped. 

It seemed to work, as Shouyou sent him a brilliant smile. “Do you have a birthday present for me?” 

Tobio blinked. “A what now?” 

“A birthday present.” Shouyou repeated, staring at him like he was dumb. “Did you get me a gift for my birthday?” 

Oh. Tobio shook his head, mournfully glancing between his bangs. “No...I didn’t know you got gifts for your birthday...I’m sorry.” 

“That’s okay.” Shouyou smiled up at him, reaching out a hand in the gap between their houses. He grabbed it without a thought, doing his very best to smile back at the kindness directed at him. 

“I’ll-I’ll get you one.” He said slowly, fearfully. “For next year, promise.” 

Shouyou’s answering grin was enough for the last dredges of the fear to fade. 

  
  
  


“Tobiooooooooooo!” 

Said boy winced, decidedly putting his multiplication worksheet down for the day. It wasn’t like he was getting anywhere with it anyhow; he’d been staring at it blankly for going on two hours now. Pushing back the curtain, he opened the window all the way up and sat himself on the sill. 

“Guess what guess what guess what!” Shouyou cheered. 

Tobio stared. “Guess...what?” 

Shouyou waved his hand, still grinning from ear to ear. “No, silly! You're supposed to guess.”

“Oh, okay. Um- you got a good grade on your math test?” Shouyou’s face screamed ‘not likely’. “Uh, a present?” Nope. “Your mom’s making dinner tonight instead of your aunt?” 

“None of them! Though I do wish my mom made dinner now and again so my taste buds could live but! But but but - Uncle’s taking me to a volleyball game!” 

“Volleyball? What’s that?” 

“So it starts with a  _ whoosh  _ and then the players go ka-bam…” 

  
  
  


Needless to say, Tobio blamed Shouyou for his current obsession.

  
  
  


“So Izumin was telling me that-” The redhead was interrupted by a loud banging noise from inside his own house, turning quickly in his seat to watch as the series of bangs came closer and closer to his door, not at all looking even remotely anxious.

Tobio curled up, watching with dread as the door finally swung open in slow motion. 

A little girl with Shouyou’s hair and eyes blinked at him, a jump rope held loosely in her hand. “Who are you?” 

  
  
  


So apparently, Shouyou had a little sister. Tobio threw a book at him for good measure. 

  
  
  


“Why don’t the two of you talk?” Shouyou offered one afternoon, his eyes warm even as his mouth wobbled in uncertainty. “That way, you can have two friends instead of just me.” 

Two friends. He could have two friends. Not too long ago the thought of even having one was something unthinkable, but now maybe...two? 

“I...I would like that. I think.” Tobio admitted shyly, and Shouyou immediately brightened up. 

“Good!” He cheered. “Because she’s kinda already here.” 

In the following silence, Natsu popped her head over the windowsill from where she had apparently been sitting underneath it. 

“Well.” Shouyou said. “Gotta go now, see you later!” And ran like the coward he was. Tobio threw another book at him and couldn’t resist the small grin at the resounding thud from hitting his back. 

Oh wait. 

“Could you...maybe toss the book over?” He asked slowly. Natsu stared at him for another moment with unblinking eyes, but eventually she nodded, and with a small toss the book landed safely back into his lap. 

“Thanks,” he said. Natsu nodded, and nothing was said for several moments, leaving them both staring awkwardly at each other. 

“I--I-- Do you -um- like volleyball?” He stuttered through the question. God, why was it so hard to talk to her? 

Natsu shrugged. Well, there went that conversation topic. Tobio sighed and dropped back, resigned to waiting until Shouyou came back until he noticed Natsu’s weird look.

“Do you wanna play a game with me?” she asked, almost fearful. He nodded slowly, and Shouyou’s smile lit up her face. 

  
  
  


“You have to pick a color.” She explained to him later, holding out the weird triangular paper thing. “There’s blue, red, orange, yellow, green, purple, pink, and black.” 

His head spun slightly. “Orange?” 

Natsu passed him a secretive smile. “Now a number between one and four.”

“Three?” 

“Stripes or polka dots?” Why. 

“Uh, I’ll go with stripes then?”

Natsu saved him and opened the weird fortune teller thing, her eyes lighting up with glee.  _ “I can see your underwear.”  _

He yelped, tugging on his pants until he realized that it was just the fortune, that no she couldn’t see his actual underwear. She still laughed, and relief coursed through him at the thought that he managed to get this one precious thing right. 

Tobio’s gaze traveled up, and he saw Shouyou smiling at him from the doorway of his room, a volleyball balanced on his hip. The knowing look he received only furthered to irritate him, and with a huff he ignored the older boy, internally snickering at his indignant yelp. Natsu glanced between the two of them, but something in her older brother’s face made her face break out into a grin. 

Him and his two friends. He liked the sound of that. 

  
  
  


“Draw with me, Tobio-nii.” Natsu commanded with the air of the queen as she struggled to climb on top of the window sill. “Nii-chan is busy today helping Auntie with the chores and I’m bored.” 

Tobio jerked from where he was dozing against the wall, but perked up at the sound of her voice. Shouyou didn’t usually come on Tuesdays, usually busy with helping his family out with chores and taking care of his little cousins, so he usually just kept the window open for the air.

“Hmm,” he agreed with a nod, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and sitting up. 

“I’m gonna draw you, and you’re gonna draw me, okay?” she giggled, already bracing a paper against a hardcover book in her lap and doodling away. 

He blinked sluggishly. “Okay...Wake me up when you’re done…” With that said, he flopped back over, not even opening his eyes when something smacked into his arm with Natsu’s call of ‘Lazy!’. 

Tobio must have drifted off, because when he opened his eyes seconds later, it was to Natsu readying her throwing arm with her sketchpad in hand. 

“Wait!” He yelped, scrambling to a sitting position. “Okay, now you can throw it.” 

She grinned like just moments ago she wasn’t planning to chuck her heavy duty sketchpad, easily tossing it over. “It’s the last page, and upsy daisy.” She tossed over a pack of crayons as well. 

Flipping through the sketchpad (which was mostly just scribbles of things he couldn’t recognize), his eyes fell to the last page.

His breath caught. 

  
  
  


A stick figure drawn in yellow, with two blue crayon blots for eyes and a wobbly smile in red. A mess of black on the head was what he presumed to be hair. A line made up his arm, outstretched as if he was holding someone’s hand. 

Tobio swallowed. He blinked back the tears threatening to form in his eyes. 

_ ‘Best friends forever’  _ Was written at the top in purple. 

Shakily, he started to draw. 

  
  
  


“I want you to have it,” Natsu said. He shook his head - he couldn’t possibly take that away from her. 

“I can’t,” He whispered. She smiled, like the sky above. 

“Take it,” she almost commanded, and he did. 

“I’ll keep it safe,” Tobio vowed solemnly. “I promise.” 

Natsu laughed. “You better!” 

  
  
  


“You should come over, like, today,” Shouyou greeted him with one day. Tobio blinked repeatedly, bewildered. Then he bowed his head, idly picking at the skin of his legs. 

“You know I can’t…” he trailed off guilty, eyes averted from the intense look he was getting from the redhead. “If my parents find out-”

“So what?” 

Tobio stopped, his gaze slowly rising to meet Shouyou’s steady one. “So what if they find out?” 

“They’ll-They’ll-” 

“You’re already breaking some of the rules, so why not just go all the way?” Even at his sputter, the redhead continued staring him down determinedly. “Tobio. You want to leave the house, right? Then leave it. It’s that simple.” 

It’s that simple. 

He closed his eyes. Could he really spend the rest of his life inside his house? Ever since he had opened that window, he’d been longing for _ more more, just please just a little more freedom- _

Shouyou reached out a hand. “Please?” 

  
  
  


Tobio really couldn’t say no to him, could he?

  
  
  


“Careful,” Natsu whispered, which was so not helping. He took another deep breath, taking the chance to crawl a bit more, leaving the safety of his windowsill for the emptiness between their houses. If the board were to break, he would go straight down- 

“C’mon, are you a wimp?” Shouyou goaded, and Tobio would have lunged for him if he wasn’t currently _ crawling from the second floor window _ . The backpack lurched to the side, and his nausea kicked in full gear as he hurriedly started scooting across the gap into Shouyou’s hands, which quickly yanked him from the board and into their open window, falling onto Shouyou in an ungraceful heap. 

“Why didn’t you just go through the front door?” Natsu asked distantly.

“It’s…” Shouyou gasped underneath him in a starfish position, staring at the ceiling with the face of a doomed man. Or one who just had all their internal organs crushed. “Cooler this way.” 

Tobio rested his chin on Shouyou’s chest, already done with the world. You would think he would be more nervous about disobeying his parents, but all he could think about was how  _ new  _ everything looked. 

After a moment, he felt movement behind him, and quietly Natsu settled down right beside them, resting her head on his back with a contented sigh. 

For the first time in what felt like forever, Tobio smiled. 

  
  
  


“We’ll share a bed.” Shouyou whispered excitedly, his hands practically waving in the air from the sheer intensity of his emotions. “And I’ll smuggle you down dinner, and when Mama goes to work and Auntie goes to the store with the little ones and Uncle goes out tomorrow, we can play out in the yard! You want to go outside, right?” 

Tobio nodded eagerly. Of course he wanted to go outside! 

“My mom and dad visited not too long ago, so it should be fine for a while,” he agreed, and Natsu’s small hand slipped into his. 

  
  
  


Tobio slipped into Shouyou’s bed that night after quietly emerging from the closet when Shouyou’s and Natsu’s mother tucked him in, leaving with a kiss on the forehead. Strange emotions tumbled in his stomach as the blanket slid over him and Shouyou tucked his face into his chest. 

“What are you doing?” he asked. 

“I’m cuddling you, stupid. It’s how you show affection, duh. Now go to sleep,” Shouyou said. 

Tobio nodded, but after another moment he spoke up once more. “Does...your mom always say goodnight to you like that?” 

Shouyou rolled so they were facing face to face, his arms tucked in between them with his palm facing up. “Of course, your mom doesn’t?” 

He shook his head. He didn’t think his mom had ever kissed him. He thought she might have hugged him though, once or twice. Shouyou’s face contorted into something weird, but after a moment he settled down and wiggled his fingers. 

“You want me to…?” he whispered, and Shouyou nodded eagerly. Slowly, he slid his own palm into Shouyou’s and held it in between them. 

It was just like the first time he held Shouyou’s hand all over again, the warmth he felt. It might even be better than feeling the sun the very first time. 

  
  
  


“Fly.” Shouyou said. 

  
  
  


As all things that existed and lived, it couldn’t last. 

“Shou!” Footsteps pounded up the stairs, jerking both him and said boy awake. “Are you up? I made you your favorite for breakfast!” 

“I’m up!” Shouyou squealed, untangling Tobio as the boy desperately tried to book it for the closet. 

He didn’t make it. 

“Shou…” Shouyou’s mother said slowly, staring at him with wide eyes. “Who’s this?” 

  
  
  


Shouyou’s mother sat on the bed, taking deep breaths as she regarded him curiously. He shuffled his feet nervously, inching towards Shouyou, who immediately offered his hand in comfort. 

“I’m sorry.” He squeaked, half hiding behind her son. “I’ll leave, this was a stupid idea-” 

His best friend whipped around so fast he was half afraid it would hurt his neck. “No! You can’t leave, I won’t let you go back there!” 

“Go back where?” Shouyou’s mother asked, standing up from her brief rest. Her steps were almost graceful, stopping right in front of Tobio, and to his surprise, she  _ kneeled _ . Her hands, painted in clumsily pale pink that made him think Natsu had been the one who did it, reached out slowly like he was a wild animal on the verge of running away. He allowed her to, because she was Shouyou’s mother and he’d already caused enough trouble for her and everyone involved.

There was gold in her hair, in her eyes, in the freckles dotted along her face. Her smile reflected the sun.

Her soft hands cupped his face, so unlike his own mother in their gentleness. Everything about her was his own mother but not, the edges blurry where they should be sharp and bleeding where there should be burns. 

“My god,” she said. “Look at you.” 

  
  
  


She led him down the stairs, her warm hand occupied with both of theirs. Shouyou sang happily from his mother's side, occasionally leaning over so the two of them could have eye contact and grin at him. 

“You need some food.” Shouyou’s mother fussed over him. “Lots of it. I can hear explanations after.” 

Natsu was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs, freezing slightly at the sight of him before breathing a sigh of relief at her mother’s face. 

“I made some Tamago Kake Gohan,” she told him over Shouyou’s cheers as they arrived at the dining room. “You can sit next to that son of mine and eat as much as you’d like, alright?” She still held his hand gently as she guided him into the low table, motioning towards the seat between Shouyou and Natsu. 

Tobio hurried over, trying his best to ignore the looks Shouyou’s extended family was throwing him. Shouyou patted the cushion, and Tobio slid in next to him, Natsu’s warm weight a comfort at his side. 

“C’mon.” Shouyou grabbed his hand excitedly, showing him how to scoop up rice and all the the seasonings he should put atop the mixed yellow dish that almost resembled the stir fry he would heat up in the microwave before it broke. The redhead laughed as he poured a liberal amount of soy sauce into his bowl, ignoring Tobio’s yelp as everything was covered in the brown sauce. 

Natsu nudged his side. “Nii-chan’s really big on Tamago Kake Gohan, but I like hotpot better. There’s some grilled fish and miso soup, too!” To prove it, she dumped a plate and a bowl of them in front of him. 

“Let’s eat!” 

Tobio’s fingers tightened on the chopsticks, held uncertainly in his hand. 

  
  
  


Was food...always...so warm? 

  
  
  


“Tobio, you doof. Food’s nothing to cry over!” Shouyou whined. 

He sniffed. “Sorry.” 

The redhead shook his head, leaning against him. “It’s no biggie. Eat as much as you want.” 

Ah. Shouyou really was the best. 

  
  
  


Shouyou and his mother retreated into kitchen to talk in quiet voices while Natsu latched onto his arm, staring up at him with Shouyou’s eyes tinted in streaks of the sun. He flinched at the touch, realizing this was the first time Natsu had actually touched him, her arm being too short to reach across the gap to touch his own. 

“Let’s play outside, Tobio-nii,” she laughed, her hair a spiraling mess of orange. “But only after you do my hair, okay? In piggytails!” 

He nodded bleakly, allowing her to pull around the house with the warm floorboards and the smell of cooking, the sounds of children running rampant through the house. 

Everything was so loud...but it was a nice loud. 

  
  
  


“Tobio-kun, you’re pretty good at that!” 

Said boy jolted from where he was pinning Natsu’s hair back, almost dropping the loose strands or orange he had collected. “...’s nothing,” he murmured, peeking up through his bangs at Shouyou’s mother standing at the door. Shouyou was behind her, anxiously bouncing on the heels of his feet. 

He bit his tongue so hard he could taste blood.

She smiled at him, a both human and godly figure wrapped in one. She drifted in on bare feet, sitting next to him on Natsu’s bed so they were closer to eye level. All Tobio wanted at the moment was to fiddle with the flower-decorated coverlet, just something to give his hands to do to avoid her probing but not stare. 

He went back to putting star-shaped ‘barrettes’ in Natsu’s hair. 

“Tobio-kun…” she said. “It’s...come to my attention that you are our neighbor, the one next to Shouyou’s window, correct?” Tobio nodded, seeing no reason to hide the truth. 

“And that you’ve befriended Shou for several months?” Another nod. 

She paused at this, almost appearing as if she was considering what to say next. “Your parents. What - what are they like?” 

Shouyou stared at him from behind his mother, his expression clear as day.  _ Tell her _ . 

So he did. 

Tobio talked about the school books with the occasional fiction spread across his bedroom floor, the visits his parents made at least once a month. The way his mother’s hair used to shine from the kitchen light, loosened from the ponytail she went to work in with a smile of relief. The way his father’s hands were almost twice as big as his own, playfully messing his hair up whenever he did really good on a test practice. On how dinners were with the two of them with him, wedged up in the middle and soaking in the amount of affection they gave him. 

His voice shook. His mouth continued without any input, of the curtained windows with strict rules not to touch them, how suffocating the house grew in both the air and the silence. Of the microwavable meals his mother bought for him to eat with, but how the microwave didn’t turn on anymore so that he’d forgotten what warm meals tasted like even when he heaved in the toilet. Of how he’d never been outside even once because he was not like other people, he was  _ a bad kid _ \- 

Shouyou’s mother’s arms wrapped around him, and he finally realized that he’d started crying who knows when. 

“I’m sorry I’m a bad kid!” He sobbed loudly into her shirt, her arms a warm frame around him, shielding him from the world. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’m really really sorry!” 

She only shushed him. “It’s okay, Tobio-kun. I promise, you’re not a bad kid.” 

He shook his head wildly, because he  _ was _ \- but she pressed his head under her chin, tucking him like Shouyou did last night. “You’re not. I  _ promise _ , you’re not.” 

Tobio could only cry, wondering what he did so wrong, and why people continued to believe he was a good person when he wasn’t. 

  
  
  


“You’re taking the futon,” she told him as soon as his sobs subsided into nothing, too tired to cry anymore. “You can take Shou’s floor, but you’re welcome to share a bed if that’s what the two of you really want. We need to bring you to a doctor. I doubt you have any vaccines. I’m going to have to discuss this with a social worker too. Oh, and clothes! And school, we’ll probably need to homeschool you for a bit while everything’s getting settled…” 

He blinked red eyes. “Ma’am…?” 

She waved a hand at him, determination flooding her eyes a warm liquid gold. “It’s Koharu. I’m not old enough to be a ma’am just yet.” 

“I don’t…” 

Koharu smiled at him, so unlike his own mother but yet the same. “Tobio-kun, do you want to live with us?” 

  
  
  


Birds soared across the sky. 

_ “Have you ever wondered what it’s like to fly?”  _

Flying meant freedom, and Tobio didn’t deserve to be freed. But staring at the three hopeful gazes turned at him, he thought that maybe he didn’t need flight to be free, and that maybe, just maybe, he could be free too one day. 

Slowly, he nodded. 

  
  
  


Introductions to the rest of the family flew by in flashes and confused mumbles. Sho - Koharu pulled aside Shouyou’s aunt and uncle to talk to them alone while Shouyou conducted the introductions to his younger cousins. Twins, a boy and a girl, and a younger sister. 

“Auntie and Uncle’s house got burnt down last autumn,” Shouyou told him. “So they’re staying with us until they can buy a new one. Ma said that they’ll be out in the autumn, hopefully with better luck!” 

Tobio nodded along, still confused at all the names thrown around and events he was never there for. Shouyou continued, undeterred. “So you can have your own bedroom when they leave the guest room, and oh! We can paint it - what’s your favorite color? - and hang up some of your own posters, you have got to watch Spirited Away; it’s the best movie ever! And maybe in a couple of months, you can come to school with me. I always wanted someone to sit with me on the bus! And we can eat lunch together, and you can meet Izumin and everyone else. We can be...we can be…” 

He trailed off, staring out into the living room where the twins were playing with each other, stacking blocks on top of each other with toddler babble and shrieks. “We can be...like siblings.”

Quietly, Tobio held his hand, the two of them watching the toddlers play with glazed eyes as they thought about a world where they could - perhaps -  stay together, just like this. 

  
  
  


Shouyou’s Aunt and Uncle came back an hour later with Koharu, grim faced but more accepting of him than he had been expecting. The Aunt smiled at him and told him that he could call her Auntie as well, and, with a discreet kick, Shouyou’s Uncle was quick to agree. 

“Auntie.” He tasted the word in his mouth, a small grin doing its best to break out. “Uncle.” 

“If you ever need, anything, don’t be afraid to ask.” Auntie told him. 

Tobio wished that was true. 

  
  
  


“What are you doing?” 

Tobio stopped mid-step, peering over his shoulder at Shouyou, who was perched criss cross applesauce (the redhead taught him that jingle) on his bed. 

He tilted his head. “Getting the futon out…?” Koharu had spent most of the afternoon teaching him how to unfold one and set it up, as well as to put it away after all. 

“Nope.” Shouyou shook his head. “You’re sleeping with me. No ifs or buts about it!” 

His eyes flickered between Shouyou and the futon in his arms, but with an exasperated sigh he put the futon back and crawled into bed beside Shouyou, their faces inches apart with only their interlocked hands to divide them. 

“I’m… so happy,” Shouyou murmured sleepily. “I have...a brother...of my very own.”

Tobio blinked, his eyes suspiciously wet. “Yeah,” he rasped. “Me too.” 

  
  
  


Life at the Hinata house was hectic. It was insane. It was always on the verge of collapse. 

He loved every minute of it.

Shouyou told him it was something called ‘Summer Vacation,’ so he would be home all day with him. Koharu said it wouldn’t always be this way, because Shouyou did have to go back to school at whatever a semester was. 

“I want to stay home!” Shouyou yelped, flinging his hand up for some reason. 

Koharu was amused. “Shou, I know you want to stay with Tobio-kun, but you’d miss your friends! Tobio will be here when you get back, I promise.” 

He pouted. “Oh, alright…” 

“I have to make some calls, boys, so why don’t you go and play out in the yard?” Koharu suggested, and Tobio immediately straightened up.

“Yes, please!” he yelled accidentally, and Shouyou giggled at him for it. He sent a particularly nasty glare in return though, so it was good.  

The older woman just shook her head with a fond smile. Was that what fondness looked like, anyhow? 

“Go out and play, you silly kids.” She shoved them gently toward the back door. “There better not be any mud on my floors when I come back, though!” 

Without any hesitation, Tobio turned on his heel and ran towards the back door, drawing to a stop right in front of it. His greedy eyes soaked in the greenery of the yard almost desperately, something both stopping him but urging him to open the door. 

A sigh. “You’re such an idiot, Tobio.” Small hands slipped in front of him, gripping the sliding door handle with assuredness and yanking it open. He barely had a moment to process what had just happened before something  _ pushed _ , and he tipped forward over the ledge, landing sprawled in the grass on his knees. 

His eyes closed. 

  
  
  


When Tobio was younger, his mother, during one of her bi-monthly visits, came in with grass in her hair. 

“Bloody neighbors,” she had grumbled, brushing off the green stalks. “Blowing their mowed grass right into our yard, what a mess.” 

She walked past him with a pat on a head and a smile towards the kitchen, leaving him reverently staring at the fragile pieces of the outside world he could grasp. 

  
  
  


“He cries a lot,” one of Shouyou’s cousins remarked, the older girl, he thought. 

“Yeah,” Shouyou replied, his voice most definitely fond. “That he does.” 

  
  
  


The minute his mother had left, he had run to his room, the grass clutched in trembling fingers. He hadn’t even let go of it to dig through his desk, the crayon gripped tightly in his hands the moment he found it. 

Silently, he began to draw. For hours, until his hands were stinging and the crayon wasn’t even big enough to grasp as it was that worn down. When he finished, he gazed proudly at his artwork on the floor, plopping down right in the middle of it. 

His fingers were dyed green, the floor was cold and nothing like what he imagined it to be, and the grass was pressed tightly against his chest as he imagined, imagined what things could’ve been.

  
  
  


“You’re such a crybaby, Tobio. But I guess being a crybaby isn’t so bad. After all, you're the best brother I could have ever asked for!” 

  
  
  


Koharu tucked him in later that day, folding the blanket over both of them with a smile he couldn’t recognize. His mouth still tasted like the hot chocolate she had made him, his first time trying it, and even if he hadn’t liked it - which he had! - Natsu’s excitement over it had been more than enough. 

“Night night, Shou,” she said, pressing a kiss to Shouyou’s forehead before smoothing his hair down. Then to his surprise, she turned to him, and without any sort of hesitation, she bowed down and pressed a kiss to his own. 

“Sleep tight, Tobio-kun.” He could only nod, watching as she left the room with another wave, turning the light off behind her. 

“See?” Shouyou whispered. Tobio saw. 

  
  
  


“Tobio-kun.” She pulled him aside three days into living with them. “This might be a bit scary, but a doctor’s coming to the house today, along with a nice lady who’s going to ask you some questions, okay?” 

He tilted his head. “A doctor?” 

For a brief moment, something like sadness flashed across Koharu’s features. “A doctor, yes. Honey...A doctor is a person who makes sure everything inside you is working just fine, not scary at all. She might give you some shots, which are...which are like little pricks in your arm. It hurts a bit, but it makes sure you stay healthy, so you have to be a big boy. Tell you what, be a..shi- be nice for the doctor and I’ll make something special for dinner tonight, okay?” 

He nodded eagerly, because Auntie had made dinner last night and it had made him realize that for all of Shouyou’s complaints, _ he had not been exaggerating _ . 

“The lady with her is also going to ask you some things, and I need you to answer all of them as best you can.” She brushed his bangs away to make eye contact. “It’ll be scary, but I’ll be right here, always.”

Tobio nodded, a bit confused but getting the general gist of what was going to happen. Koharu smiled at him, patting his head and telling him to go play with Natsu and Shouyou outside while they waited for the doctor and the strange lady to come. 

“What did Ma want?” Shouyou asked him when he opened the backdoor, running out to join him and Natsu out in the yard. The grass tickled his bare feet, making him wiggle them just to do it again. 

“Something called a doctor is coming to see me,” he said, catching the volleyball Shouyou tossed to him. He awkwardly rearranged his arms, more through visual memory than any sort of skill, and bounced it back. Natsu hopped in between them, stretching on her tippy toes to bat at the ball as it soared over her head. 

Shouyou made a face. “I don’t like the doctor; the shots hurt and she keeps saying I’m short for my age. I’m not! I’m perfectly average, thank you very much.”

Tobio glanced down. “I think you’re pretty short.” 

Shouyou kicked him in the shin. 

  
  
  


The doctor wasn’t as bad as he expected. She was a nice lady, but she brought in a lot of strange things with her, the silent lady who was supposed to ask a lot of questions trailing on her heels. 

“This,” she said, raising something silver up, “is a scale. It measures how much you weigh, and makes sure your weight is a healthy amount. After the scale, I’m going to measure how tall you are with something called a tape measure.” 

Tobio shrunk behind Koharu, only stumbling forward onto the scale when Koharu pressed lightly between his shoulderblades. He stood stock still as the doctor lady measured his weight, and had a front row seat when he saw her eyebrows pinch together. 

“What?” Koharu asked hastily, already coming to his side with an arm around his shoulders so he could tuck his face into her side. “What’s wrong?” 

“Now, ma'am.” The doctor lady remarked, a bit of an accent to her voice. “I’m a home doctor, not exactly a top notch professional. Give me a moment here, please.” 

Koharu stilled, but hesitantly let go, stepping back so the doctor lady could continue to check him. She had him stand against the wall, measuring his height like she said, even saying he’s a bit tall! After that, she sat him down on the couch and had him pull up his shirt so she could “listen to his heart,” supposedly checking his ribs while she did so. 

The doctor lady described everything she did before she did it, very slowly and always making it easier to understand each time he expressed confusion. He did everything she asked him to, didn’t even fuss when the doctor lady did the shots Shouyou dreaded so much. They hurt, but probably not as much as Auntie’s cooking hurt his stomach. She even gave him a lollipop after she finished. 

“Well,” the doctor lady said, straightening up and pulling the ‘ste-tho-scope” from her ears and facing Koharu, as if he had just disappeared from her mind the instant she was done. “I gave him all the vaccines I could. You might want to bring him to an actual doctor in about three months’ time when he can probably handle crowds to get the rest of them. He’s a bit malnourished, and his weight is  _ way _ below what it needs to be, so I gave him a couple of vitamin shots. Here’s a recommended meal plan - high nutrition and high calories, I would recommend lots of milk, powdered milk is a big plus and can be added to a lot of things - oh and…” 

Tobio’s head spun, but Koharu didn’t look the least bit fazed. Instead, she was nodding along to the doctor lady’s instructions, even asking pointed questions at times. 

“Hello there.” 

He jumped, spinning in his seat to face the intruder. 

The lady-who-was-supposed-to-ask-lots-of-questions was sitting next to him, her hands folded over each other on her knees. She laughed, not like his mother, but not like Shouyou either. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I was only simply wondering about you.”

Tobio squeaked, pointing at himself. “About me?” 

She nodded, the corners of her lips pulling up slightly. “Yes. All I want to do is listen.” 

“About what?” 

“Anything.” She said. “Let’s start with something simple. How about...Tell me about your favorite things.” 

  
  
  


Koharu swept him up in a hug after the two of them left, a smile splitting her face in two. 

“You can stay!” she cheered, lifting him up with a laugh. “Welcome to the family, Tobio-kun!” 

  
  
  


Ever since the doctor lady and the lady-who-was-supposed-to-ask-lots-of-questions visited, Koharu had set him up with a bunch of strange activities, all the while practically taking over Auntie’s time in the kitchen over dinner again and stuffing him with food. He didn’t really have any idea why, but Shouyou actually cried when she announced Auntie was going to take night shifts, so she’ll make dinner from now on. 

“It’s a miracle!” Shouyou shouted, only for Koharu to smack him in the back of the head for it.

“Apologize to your aunt!” she barked, but Auntie only looked amused at Shouyou’s theatrics. 

“It’s fine, Nii-san.” Auntie smiled down at them like a fantasy figure from Natsu’s picture books, the ones filled with talking animals and magic. “I know my cooking isn’t the world’s greatest. Remember that time I overcooked the chicken?” 

She looked a bit disturbed when Natsu broke out into relieved tears, though. 

  
  
  


Tobio crept down the stairs, feeling a tad guilty for it. It was somewhere around two in the morning, according to Shouyou’s bedside clock, but no matter how much he tried, he just couldn’t fall asleep. With thoughts of maybe watching the sun rise or playing with a volleyball until Natsu woke up (who was usually the first one up), he crept quietly down the stairs, only to draw to a stop when he saw the kitchen light on. 

He nudged the door open, his eyes widening as he saw Uncle sitting in the small kitchen nook, a cup of something in front of him. 

Uncle opened his closed eyes, a grin pulling at the corners of his mouth. “Can’t sleep?” 

He shook his head, but then quickly reverted to a nod, walking quickly on awkward feet towards the seat across from him and lugging himself up on it. 

“Yeah, me too. Want some warm milk?” Uncle offered, motioning his head towards the pan on the stove. Tobio made a face. 

“Why would someone heat up mik?” He asked, but Uncle only looked amused, getting up to fetch him a mug. 

“Warm milk has sedative properties.” Uncle explained, but simplified it at his confused expression. “That means when you drink warm milk, it makes you sleepy.” 

Uncle poured the milk from the pan into a cup and handed it to him with a warning of its heat. Cautiously, he took a sip from the mug and lit up at the taste. 

“Good, huh?” Uncle watched him with an amused expression as he chugged the drink down, all doubts forgotten. “Shou-kun used to have trouble sleeping too, but it seemed to have calmed down in the past couple of months.” 

Tobio set the empty mug down, staring up at Uncle’s considering expression. “Shouyou?” 

Uncle nodded. “It doesn’t look like it, does it? But take care of him for us, will you? I’m afraid having him live with Youko and Haruki made him feel lonely for a sibling of his own age.”

“Who?” 

“The twins?” Uncle smirked at him. “You forgot their names?” 

He sputtered. “I didn’t mean to!” 

“I know, I know. Heh, their little sister is Shizuka, in case you forgot that too.” 

Uncle’s uproarious laughs echoed in the sleeping house to the backdrop of his indignant shouts. 

  
  
  


“Stay still!” Koharu laughed at his panicked expressions, the pair of scissors in her hands gleaming almost sinisterly in the bathroom light.

“No!” he yelped, but Shouyou’s grip remained firm around his arms like a brick. Natsu, the traitor she was, tied one of her Pretty Princesses Chefs Kitchen apron around his neck. 

“I’m sorry, Tobio-kun,” she lied with a mischievous grin. “But your hair's a mess! How you can even see beyond those bangs of yours are beyond me.” 

“I can.” He totally didn’t whine, but gave up, allowing her to approach him with those gleaming, deadly scissors. “I can see just fine, I promise.” 

She cast him a dubious look, and he conceded. With deadly clicks, she cut off the first lock of hair, but he didn’t open his closed eyes (he didn’t even realize he had closed them). 

“See,” Koharu murmured. “This isn’t so bad, is it?” 

“Please, Tobio. My hair grows like,  _ all the time _ , and we have to get it cut every month. At least your hair grows slowly! I think,” Shouyou chattered, and Natsu patted his thigh in agreement. 

“I have to get my hair cut proffes-proffes-”

“Professionally.” 

“Yeah, that! I have to get my haircut there ‘cuz last time Mama tried, I got an afro.” 

“Shush!” 

Shouyou and Natsu’s giggles and chatter filled up the bathroom, and in no time at all Koharu was telling him to open his eyes. 

Tobio stared in the mirror, and didn’t recognize himself. He knew, far away, that he looked like his mother, his father, but for some reason he thought he would somehow look like Koharu. He didn’t know why, it wasn’t like they were related, but for some reason he hoped. Instead, he had both eyes and hair that weren’t Shouyou’s. There was no gold, there was no parts of Shouyou inside him.

He didn’t know what to think about this. 

Natsu sidled up next to him, and without any sort of word, he picked her up so she could sit on the counter to see his new haircut, both of them staring into the mirror. 

“You have a ‘M’ on your forehead.” She giggled. 

He looked at his reflection. He really did. 

  
  
  


The twins - Youko and Haruki now - were loudly stacking their toys in the living room. 

Tobio bounced on his heels. Shouyou had to do something called ‘summer homework’ and Natsu was at a friend’s house for a ‘playdate’. Both terms were explained to him, but found it originally alright. Koharu had kicked him out of the dining room though when he kept telling Shouyou the answers to the problems instead of letting him do it on his own. Shouyou didn’t complain though!

So here he was, watching Youko and Haruki stack colored toy bricks into towers, bursting into tears each time someone accidentally knocked it down. After about the third time of this, he crept forward and quietly corrected the base so as to better support the tower. 

Two exact shades of brown eyes snapped towards him. 

“What’cha doing, Tobio-nii!” One of them chirped - Youko was a boy’s name, right? - and the other twin patted the ground in between them. Hesitantly, he took the seat and watched as the two went to rebuilding the tower. 

“Uh…” he answered eloquently. “The base was crooked and if the base is crooked it’ll keep falling down.” 

“Youko thinks that smart,” Oh no; Youko was a  _ girl's _ name. The boy - Haruki - nodded along. “Haruki thinks so too!” 

His head spun. Why were they talking in third person? Was this a book? 

“Play with us!” Haruki demanded, grabbing a block and stacking it haphazardly. Tobio unconsciously nudged it back into place, placing his own piece right over it. Youko added hers, and then Haruki again. Before he knew it, they had run out of blocks and the tower was stacked higher than either of the twins. 

“Again! Again!” Youko cheered, before knocking over the tower herself with her fists. A pause, and then both of them broke into simultaneous tears. 

“Oh dears.” Auntie swept in the room with a sweep of her long hair, holding out her arms to both of the twins. They launched themselves into her arms, wailing into the crook of her neck over the fallen tower  _ they had knocked over themselves _ . 

When he explained this to her, she only laughed, the twins deciding they were done crying and going back to stacking another tower. “They’re little, they don’t understand these things.”

Which wasn’t..much of an explanation, now that he thought of it, only that toddlers were terrifying. He’d stick with his own age, thank you very much. 

  
  
  


“It’s been a month since you’ve moved in with us.” Koharu told him one day while making dinner. Tobio was sitting on the counter next to her, swinging his legs against the wooden cupboard and absently stirring the batter, his tongue peeking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. “Do you want anything special for dinner tomorrow?” 

He hummed, slowly moving the clumpy batter around in the bowl on his lap. “Maybe...Pork curry?”

“Sure thing.” Koharu laughed, fire lit hair tied messily in a bun and streaks of flour covering her sun kissed freckles. “Wow, I haven’t made that in a while. Shou’s always asking for that silly egg dish, but Natsu only wants hotpot. It’s nice to have some variety on occasion, you know?” 

Tobio smiled quietly along, pausing in the mixing to watch as she deftly cut up vegetables, sneaking a bite here or there with a mischievous wink at him and offering him a slice of green pepper. He munched on the vegetable while pondering a question he’d been wanting to ask for a while. 

“Um…” He trailed off. “Who’s Shouyou’s and Natsu's dad?” 

Koharu paused, her hands flirting around the food hesitantly. “He’s...passed away. Dead.” 

Oh. Death was like...not being there anymore, and would never come back. Or that’s what Shouyou had told him. “I’m sorry.” 

Koharu shook her head. “It’s been a while, don’t worry about it. My mother...got sick shortly after we had Shou. I didn’t want my little sister, who was getting married in six months, to worry about taking care of her, so I took over. That’s why Shou and Natsu have such a big age difference, if you were wondering. And well, after Natsu...I didn’t have that option anymore.” 

Tobio didn’t say anything, but after a moment, Koharu set down her cooking appliances and approached him, moving the bowl of out his hands and holding his sticky hands with her flour coated ones.

“Tobio-kun, I..” She hesitated, kneeling slightly so they were eye level. “I always wanted another child, but I had gotten used to the idea that it would never happen. Until you came along.”

His breath caught.

“I...I want to adopt you,” Koharu admitted over the rapid pounding of his heart. “I want you as my son. Officially.” 

“What do you say? Do you want to become a Hinata?” 

  
  
  


“Can I really?” he asked. 

“Of course, silly,” Koharu told him. “I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t serious. It’ll take a long time, but I would be more than happy to have you.” 

  
  
  


Birds flew on overhead. 

_ “Have you ever wondered what it’s like to fly?”  _

_ “Fly.” _

  
  
  


“I...I want to be a Hinata. I want to be your son. Do...Do I deserve a Mom? Can...Can I have you for a Mom?” 

“Oh, honey. You deserve it, you deserve everything, I promise. Welcome to the family, Tobio-kun.”

  
  
  


Tobio stared up at the sky, his shoes and socks were kicked off next to him to get some relief from the scorching summer sun. He never knew it could be so hot.

The ice cream bar was rapidly melting in his hand, so he hurriedly shoved the rest of it into his mouth before it melted all over his borrowed shirt. It had a cute picture of a talking fruit making a fruit pun. He liked it. 

Shouyou’s voice was a distant murmur, rising and falling like the ocean videos he watched on Uncle’s tablet. Koharu promised to bring him there, as soon as he could handle the grocery store without crying. 

The memory burned in his chest. Such a failure, couldn’t even go to a crowd of people without getting ‘overwhelmed’. It was just...so loud. And not in the nice way. But Koharu didn’t even get mad, just picked him up like he was Natsu’s age and carried him back home, not a word exchanged between them. She had tucked him in the soft blanket from the couch, and had just stayed beside him as he cried his eyes out. 

She called it progress, and he was inclined to believe her on days like this. 

The park was noisy, but Koharu had taken over a quiet corner under a tree before anyone else had got here, so the noise wasn’t any worse than when the twins pulled a tantrum on occasion. Shouyou was teaching Natsu how to jump rope a couple feet away, and Tobio was going to join them as soon as he finished his ice cream bar. 

A flock of black birds flew overhead, and without any thought the word jumped into his mouth.

“Crows…” 

“Tobio!” “Tobio-nii!” 

His chin jerked down, watching as Shouyou waved at him in the distance with Natsu hopping up and down right next to him. “C’mon!” 

Tobio nodded, shoving the rest of the ice cream bar into his mouth as he ran to join them, the summer heat a warm presence on his back. 

  
  
  


He wondered if he was free yet. 

  
  
  


“I’m gonna miss you!” Shouyou bawled into Auntie’s blouse, and even he had some tears in his eyes as Auntie and Uncle announced they had found a place to live. 

“We’ll miss you too, squirt.” Uncle ruffled Shouyou’s hair, before ducking in for a hug. “But we’ll only be a ten minute drive away and you can visit any time you’d like. And look on the bright side; Tobio will have his own room so you can have a bed to yourself again.” 

Shouyou side-eyed him. “That’s true…” 

“Hey!” 

“What? It’s the truth.” Shouyou shrugged. “Besides, you snore.”

Tobio elbowed him in the stomach, the sad mood lifted as the two boys playfully roughhoused, laughter and giggles making the world a shade of bright orange. Always orange. 

  
  
  


“Get back here!” Tobio skidded on the grass, chasing after Haruki with a scowl scary enough to ward of yokai. “I’m going to hit you, I swear to-” 

“Tobio! No threatening your cousin!” 

He yelped a “Sorry!” Sliding around the bush, he yanked on the back of Haruki’s t-shirt, drawing to a violent stop right before they would have collided with the snack table. “Got you, you little weasel!” 

Haruki only giggled, even when Tobio made another scary scowl and ripped the package out of his arms. “This is for your mom, not you!” 

The toddler narrowed his eyes, no longer laughing. “Mine.” 

“Not yours.” 

“Mine!” 

“Not yours!”

“Mine now!” 

…. “Huh?” 

Youko skipped past, the messily wrapped package in her arms. She stuck out her tongue, once, before booking it towards the safety of the inside. With a war cry, Tobio gave chase, only for Natsu to tackle Youko for him. 

“I got you, Tobio-nii!” She cheered, tossing him the package once more. He caught it with a grin, nodding his thanks before sprinting towards where Auntie and Uncle were sitting amongst a couple of their friends for their going away party. 

“I made this for you!” He presented the gift, head bowed slightly. Auntie gasped and grabbed the package with a delighted “That’s so sweet of you, Tobio-kun.” 

Uncle peeked over her shoulder as she unwrapped the gift, his expression lighting up as he recognized the twin mugs. “Oh, Tobio-kun…” 

He scuffed the sole of his brand new sneakers on the ground shyly, his gaze drifting towards the ground. “I thought you would like them, so I borrowed Shouyou’s paints and did it myself.” The two mugs were covered in shining sun prints with many constellations painted shakily, one saying “Uncle” and the other saying “Auntie” at the top with in delicate kanji. 

Someone grabbed his arm and yanked him into a bear hug. “Thank you, Tobio-kun. I’ll treasure it always, I promise.” Uncle told him solemnly. Tobio allowed himself to be dragged into a hug by Auntie before hearing Shouyou calling him from the kitchen. 

“Off you go now.” Auntie smiled at him, and he was loosened from her tight hug. “Now boy, don’t be afraid to come over anytime, now. I’ll always be here if you need me, alright?” 

He was inclined to believe her, this time. “Of course.” 

“Tobio!” Said boy rolled his eyes at Shouyou’s theatrics, waving goodbye to Auntie and Uncle, just watching for a moment as they became enraptured in talking with their friends once more. Jogging, he reached Shouyou who was waiting for him at the back door with an impatient expression. 

“Finally.” Shouyou grabbed his hand, barely giving him time to change into his uwabaki before dragging him towards the kitchen. “Ma wants you to try her cake, she says I’m ‘biased’ or something. I just really like all kinds of cake, is that a problem?” 

They entered the kitchen at the moment, watching as Koharu turned around from the stove at the moment to watch them with such an expression of fond amusement that his heart felt like it stopped momentarily. 

“No, Shou. It’s because you’ll eat any cake, no matter how bad it is,” Koharu scolded fondly, already handing Tobio a small plate of vanilla frosted cake. He took a bite of the cake eagerly, relishing the what tasted like cream cheese and strawberries and giving his thumbs up. 

“It tastes really good...Mom.” 

Koharu gave him a brilliant smile. “That’s good, at least! Oh, good news. The paperwork-” 

The doorbell rang. 

“Can you get that for me, Tobio?” Koharu requested, turning back around to the stove and handing Shouyou the rest of the slice of cake. “The sukiyaki should be ready any minute now.” 

He nodded eagerly, skipping out of the kitchen and towards the front door, ready to welcome more guests and have his cheeks squeezed uncomfortably. Opening the door, he looked up with a welcome on his lips that promptly died and faded into the sheer panic that was cooling his insides. 

“There you are, Tobio.” 

His mother - his birth mother - stared down at him with pursed lips, his father on her side glaring daggers down at him. 

No, oh please no…

  
  
  


_ “I should have you arrested for kidnapping charges!”  _

_ “All my paperwork’s filled out, he’s legally fostered by me! I should have  _ you  _ arrested for child neglect!”  _

_ “You can’t pin anything on us. Your paperwork means nothing - it can just as easily disappear as be filed. Just give us back our son before your children find their mother in jail!”  _

_ “He's my son, not the son of monsters like you! And no way in hell am I going to let him go back to what - barely making it each month and shriveling to nothingness?” _

Tobio couldn’t stop shaking. Shouyou had an arm around his shoulders, Natsu on his other side quietly coloring in her notebook as they listened to each word passed through the thin, locked door. Shizuka was peacefully sleeping in her play pen across from them, her parents with Koharu, and her siblings taking a nap in their own room. 

“I don’t want to go back,” he found himself whispering. “Please, don’t make me go back.” 

Shouyou nestled into his side, his brown eyes glossy with tears. “I won’t let them, I promise. You’re...supposed to go back to school with me in the winter and do Natsu’s hair and cook with Ma… You’re supposed to stay. You can’t leave.” 

“I’m scared,” Tobio cried quietly. “I’m really really scared.” 

“Me too,” Shouyou said. “Me too.” 

  
  
  


The yelling continued. 

Natsu passed a folded piece of paper into his pocket, along with a piece of candy. 

“For good luck,” she said when he asked. 

  
  
  


The door slammed open, and his father strode into the room with furious steps and grabbed onto his wrist and yanked him from the huddle and onto his feet, ignoring his cries as he felt something in his wrist  _ give _ . 

Shouyou shouted for him, grabbing onto his other arm and pulling him back futily, only for his father to snap him forward and make him lose his grip, falling onto the ground in an ungraceful heap with Natsu’s scream of “Nii-chan!” 

Shizuka woke up with a wail, and he could hear Koharu screaming at someone to let her go that  _ someone’s hurting her baby boy! _

“I’ll get you back!” she shouted as his father dragged him down the stairs, Auntie and Uncle holding her back with mournful expressions. “I promise, Tobio, I promise!” 

With an ominous slam, the door opened and Tobio was dragged from his house, back to the place he thought he’d never return to. 

  
  
  


Time flew in flashes. 

He couldn’t leave his room anymore, the door locked from the outside and only opened once a day for his mother to pass him some food with a disappointed expression. 

His window was boarded up, but sometimes he could feel like Shouyou was on the other side, just waiting for him as usual, the sun passing through his fingertips and illuminating his world a bright golden.

Tobio curled up tighter. His stomach hurt. 

  
  
  


This is all your fault, the person who wore his mother's face told him in blues and blacks, you only had one rule and that was to stay inside. 

You broke the rules, his father told him with a cigarette in one hand and an unfamiliar barrel grasped in the other, so you have to pay the price. 

  
  
  


His wrist hurt. His arm hurt. His stomach hurt. 

A lot of things hurt. 

His parents had left - he didn’t know where. But they left. At least there was some sunlight where they had tied him. 

The radiator was a cold presence against his back, the zip ties digging into his skin uncomfortably. The blood had already dried, just making the skin of his wrists stiff and gritty. 

The window across from him had a corner of the curtain loose, splaying a ray of light that ended right by his sprawled legs. Just out of reach. 

“Shou...you…” His head lolled back, eyes swimming with flying black fish. Water...You were supposed to have water or you’d die without it, Auntie had told him when she found him passed out of heat exhaustion in the back yard. 

When was the last time he had water? He tried counting on his fingers, but belatedly realized a little too late he couldn’t feel his fingers and he hadn’t been able to for at least an hour. 

A choked laugh gurgled in his throat. 

He blinked, and the sun was now lying in his lap, warming his numb legs. There was a distant smell of smoke tickling his lungs, making him cough a bit before fading away once more.

Summer days passed by like a dream. Tobio thinks that if...if he died here, he would be okay with it. He’d gotten what he wanted. He’d been outside, he’d made friends and a family. He’d gotten everything he’d ever wanted. 

Somehow, one of his hands was free, dripping in bright fresh blood and pulling the note out of his pocket, along with the mint Natsu had passed him. 

It was the same drawing him and Natsu had made all the weeks, months, ago, but he realized dimly that she had added to it. Koharu was holding hands with the Shouyou stick figure, and then Auntie and Uncle with little stick figures of Youko and Haruki, a baby Shizuka standing on her own legs despite the fact she was still crawling. 

He - He - 

He didn’t want to die. 

But by that point, the smoke had already seeped into his lungs, making the world spin. In the corner of his eye, he could see the fire flickering in the living room furniture, building higher and higher with a roar. Twisting, he buckled at the remaining tie, pulling his full body weight against it as the fire spread quickly across the carpeted floors. 

“No no no no-” His body shook as he pulled harder, bracing his feet against the radiator and shoving, ignoring the screaming pain in his wrist as the plastic dug in deeper and let out fresh blood. “Someone, please-” 

He was alone, and he was going to be burned to death. 

His vision was going dark, lost to the black birds flying to some unknown point in the sky; to freedom.

_ “Play with us!”  _

_ “Can’t sleep?”  _

_ “If you ever need, anything, don’t be afraid to ask.”  _

_ “I want you to have it.” _

_ “Welcome to the family, Tobio-kun.” _

_ “Have you ever wondered what it’s like to fly?”  _

Tobio took one last shuddering breath, feeling his limbs slowly stop struggling, before he just sat there. His eyes were closing against his best wishes, but he just wanted to- 

He never got to say- 

He’s sorry he’s sorry he’s such a bad boy he’s sorry please he’s sorry let him go home- 

Koharu-Mom-Koharu-Mom-Mom-Mom-Mama-Mamapleasehe’ssorrypleasepleasepleaseplease-

Mamapleasesavemepleasejustonemoresummerdaywitheveryoneplease- 

Shouyou-

Distantly, he heard a door open. 

  
  
  


_ “Ne, Tobio.” Shouyou leaned against his arm, resting his head against his shoulder. Tobio hummed in response, resting his own head atop of his orange locks and focusing on the book in his lap. Natsu had lent it to him, saying that if he was going to be her new big brother than he needed to know a few bedtime stories.  _

_ “Why are you so crazy about flying?” He paused. After a moment, he closed the book and leaned fully into Shouyou’s side, intertwining their hands together. Tanned skin and calloused from years of play next to his paler than paper ones with skin stretched taut over his bones. But there were a couple of new callouses from the monkey bars at the nearby playground and even some signs of a tan.  _

_ “I used to think I would never leave,” he admitted, feeling Shouyou going still next to him. “I used to think it would be fine with just an occasional peek to the outside world, But now...now that I’ve had a taste of it, I don’t want to go back. When you can fly, you can be free. No one can stop you if you can just fly away from everything. I...want to be like that too.” _

_ “But, Tobio,” Shouyou whispered. “You can be free without wings, you know.” _

  
  
  


“ _ Tobio _ !” 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Koharu (小春) - Late Summer  
> Youko (陽子) - Sun Child  
> Haruki (陽生) - Bright Light  
> Shizuka (静夏) - Quiet Summer


End file.
